Eating, Drinking and Recreating Street Food From Around the World

The Chilean Completo

We hadn’t even crossed over the Chilean border in the Andes, when a road-side street food stall and a five hour wait at customs enticed us to try Chile’s most popular street food: the Completo–the ultimate South American hot dog.

For 1000 Chilean Pesos, ($1.59) I was given a microwaved hot dog in a white bun, heartily adorned with fresh chopped tomatoes, smashed avocados and topped with a theatrical squirt of mayo–the fixings making it the Completo. To further customize your dog, two jars at the counter contained a spicy, mustard based salsa and ketchup.

The Completo

While it wasn’t the most refined meal, and I personally would have preferred a little less mayo, the texture of the chopped fresh tomatoes provided a crisp contrast to the mashed avocado and firm ‘dog. And of course, as I’m a spice fiend, I relished the additional spicy sauces. Now, if only we can figure out how to make Chilean customs faster…